Summary

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) of CO2 produced during the burning of fossil fuels is a bridging technology that can give us the time needed to develop and implement large-scale renewable energy sources. CCS has the potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the short to medium term. The process involves the capture of man-made CO2 from large point sources, such as power plants or heavy industry plants, followed by its injection into porous rocks deep underground for permanent storage. The injection of CO2 has been conducted for over 40 years by the petroleum industry to recover more oil, such as at the famous and extensively studied Weyburn site in western Canada, has been performed for purely storage purposes for over 15 years in the Norwegian North Sea (Sleipner, Snohvit) using CO2 separated from natural gas, and has recently been implemented as a full-cycle CCS project via the capture of CO2 emissions from a coal-fired power plant and storage in a deep saline aquifer in southern Saskatchewan, Canada (the Boundary Dam project). In addition, extensive government-funded research in the European Union, the USA, Australia and many other countries has addressed issues related to how much CO2 can be stored, where, and how storage can be done safely. This varied and extensive experience under both experimental and real-world settings shows that CCS is technologically feasible, is on its way to being economically viable, and is safe for both humans and the environment. The potential for the use of this technique in Italy was greatly improved by a recently ratified law that will subsidize the construction of a 350 MWe coal-fired power plant and CCS demonstration plant in southern Sardinia, with the eventual injection of the recovered CO2 into a >1000-1500 m deep saline carbonate aquifer.

Despite this significant progress work is still needed to advance this technology from isolated cases to full-scale global deployment, which according to the majority of modelled scenarios is required together with other approaches such as renewables and increased energy efficiency, to attain the 2 degree scenario outlined in the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. Principal amongst areas for development is dialogue with the public to ensure that their concerns regarding safety, viability, and costs are addressed, as well as the training of the young geological, environmental and engineering professionals who represent the future workforce for the industrial-scale deployment of this technology. To this end, the main goal of the proposed event will be to increase the visibility of CCS in Italy as a potential climate change mitigation technique, outlining the state-of-the-art on CCS technology to stimulate interest and debate on the potential contribution CCS can make to Italy’s future GHG emission cuts. The format of the event will be a one day, with the target audience being geology and environmental science students as well as members of the Geological Society of Italy. The event will consist of the following sessions:

1) Screening of a short informative video produced by the hosts within the EC-funded ECO2 project (“CCS – A bridging technology for the energy of the future” https://youtu.be/RDU_PTKll_g ). This video introduces CCS and how it may contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy portfolio in layman’s terms. The audience will be asked to fill in questionnaires to collect feed-back on the video’s dissemination impact and information about the participants attitudes towards CCS technology.2) A series of presentations addressing the technology behind CO2 capture, CO2 storage, modelling of fluid migration in the sub-surface, potential impacts of CO2 leakage, seismicity monitoring, satellite monitoring. The session will close with a presentation on the social aspects of CCS and what studies have shown regarding the public’s perception of this emerging technology.3) The last part of the workshop will be dedicated to Questions & Answers to allow the participants to interact with the presenters and to debate the technologies and themes raised during the event.4) Refreshments will be served at the end of the event, allowing the audience to mingle with the panel members to foster additional exchange and a direct discussion of the items raised during the workshop.

Key outcomes

The event was organized by Sapienza University of Rome (CERI Research Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, Department Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering – DICEA) together with CO2GeoNet-European Network of Excellence on the geological storage of CO2, the Geological Society of Italy, OGS - Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale and SOTACARBO.

The goal of the event was to illustrate the potential application of Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage in Italy as a climate change mitigation technique, outlining the state-of-the-art on CCS technology to stimulate interest and debate on the potential contribution CCS can make to Italy’s future GHG emission cuts.

A large number of people (about 70) took part in the various moments of the event, including young geology and environmental science students as well as members of the Geological Society of Italy, environmental scientists and engineering professionals. The participation of students was particularly encouraged and appreciated because they represent the future labour force for the spread of this technology on an industrial scale. Also dialogue with the participants was given space discussing safety concerns, feasibility and costs.

Report

You will find hereunder link to the video of the event and the report.